were a special police squad formed in Japan by the Meiji government in 1877 during the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

. The detachment was armed with

Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1,000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794–1185) to the ...

s. The members of Battotai defeated the rebels in the

Battle of Tabaruzaka A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. Their success in sword fighting led to a renewed interest in the art of

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms o ...

, which had been abandoned after the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, and, as a result, the formation of modern

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...

.''Cornelia Niekus Moore, Raymond A. Moody.'' Comparative Literature - East and West: Traditions and Trends : Selected Conference Papers. — University of Hawaii Press, 1989. — p. 172, p. 219 — .

History

During the multi-day siege by the government forces of Tabaruzaka, where the rebels of Saigo Takamori were entrenched, it turned out that the troops were suffering heavy damage from the attacks of the rebels in close combat. This was due to the fact that most of the government forces were conscripted "common people", peasants and townspeople who had never learned to fight with a sword. In a sword fight with the Saigo samurai, they invariably died. To change the situation, the police command, among which there were many people of samurai origin, approached the army commander

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

with a proposal to recruit a separate squad of capable swordsmen. Yamagata gave permission, and such a detachment of one hundred people was recruited. On March 14, 1877, Battotai, by order of the command, attacked Mount Tabaruzaka. After two days of battle with Satsuma rebels detachment suffered heavy losses of 25 dead and injured 54. Despite the fact that the sword at the end of the 19th century was considered a long-obsolete weapon, Battotai revived interest among Japanese in Kenjutsu, which was abandoned after the defeat of the shogunate. The greatest supporter of the revival of kenjutsu was the "father of the Japanese police"

Kawaji Toshiyoshi , also known as Kawaji Toshikane, was a Japanese military general, politician, and samurai. during the Meiji period.Lanman, Charles. ''Leading Men of Japan: With an Historical Summary of the Empire''. The University of California. Published by ...

. He published the work "On the question of the restoration of fencing" (Japanese: 撃剣再興論 Gekiken saikō-ron), and in 1879 the police department began hiring instructors to train their officers in fencing.

References

1877 establishments in Japan Organizations established in 1877 Military history of Kumamoto Prefecture Satsuma Rebellion Kendo Police units of Japan {{japan-history-stub